Classical philosophy and Darwinian biology are far more compatible than is usually assumed. In fact, looking at either from the standpoint of the other can enrich and deepen our appreciation of both. From a Darwinian point of view, the theories of Plato and Aristotle deserve to be taken very seriously. From the classical point of view, Darwinian biology is much less reductionist than its enemies suppose.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Relative Virtue

At the close of chapter 5 of
Intelligent Virtue, Annas raises the question whether virtue is “too ideal.”She has argued that a Roman was capable only
of a qualified virtue, since he or she lived in a society that was morally
compromised by slavery.In the context
of that society, no virtuous person could challenge slavery and this limited
his or her ability to achieve true virtue.

Annas goes on to argue that
this is true of our society.The
inequitable relationship between developed nations and undeveloped ones means
that the former are exploiting the latter.It is not clear that there is any remedy for this in the foreseeable
future and so the virtuous person at present is in the same position as the
more or less virtuous Roman.

Annas resolves this by
suggesting that perfect virtue might never be possible.It is something a person aspires to, even if
no one ever achieves it.Using the skill
analogy, it is possible or even likely that there is no perfect pianist.That doesn’t mean that there are no pianists
let alone that there are no great ones.

I think that this solution to
the problem is a bit stingy.The
virtuous person is the person who does the virtuous thing in every
situation.Situations constrain what is
possible.One way to put this is that
while one can never guarantee victory, one can guarantee that he deserves
it.Virtue can never be judged by the
outcome.It can only be judged by the
action in context.

Abraham Lincoln is the best
example of virtue that this Republic has to offer.He achieved the salvation of the Union and
the extinction of slavery.He did not
achieve the ultimate resolution of the race problem.The latter failure was due to the limitations
imposed by the historical context.It
was not Lincoln’s fault and shows no deficiency of virtue in him.It is not clear to me that Lincoln falls
short of the simply virtuous man that Aristotle offers us.